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The 1920's was a time of great culture in America. New fads and fashion trends were invented. The youth went against tradition and created new ideas. Technological advancements allowed for improvements in tranportation witht the invention of the car and airplane. Read below to learn more about the modernization of the 1920's in america.

Key terms: __**Henry Ford**__-owner of the Ford Motor Company; invented the assembly line __**Bunion Derby**__-dance marathon __**Corn and Callus Carnival**__-dance marathon __**Walkathon**__-dance marathon
 * __Assembly Line__**-parts are sent down a conveyor belt while workers add on more parts as the product reaches their station.
 * __Mass Production__**-a lot of one producuct in built in a short amount of time; allows for lower prices.
 * __Mahjong__**-a game of Cinese origin usually played by four persons with tiles resembling dominoes and bearing various designs, which are drawn and discarded until one player wins with a hand of four combinations of three tiles each and a pair of matching tiles.

1920's Automobiles By: Danny Mendelson

The 1920's automotive industry was led by Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. Ford's invention of the assembly line allowd for mass production. To learn more about Ford's orginal assembly line, The speed [|visit this PBS publication]of Ford's assembly line had one of his Model T cars coming off every ten seconds. Because of the high demand and fast production, cars were very affordable to everyone. As more people began driving cars, roads that were designed for horse drawn carriages were degraded. Because of this, roads had to be improved. Local governments supplied the majority of funds for road cunstruction, but State and Federal government supplied funds as well. As roads were improved and more and more people started driving, people started vacationing to farther distances getting places they needed to go faster and easier. In 1921, Germany designed the first highway with their autobahn. The innovation of the automobile in the 1920's not only stimulated the American economy, but the daily life of everday people all over the world as well.

By the mid 1920's, cars became a fasion statement as well as a means of transportation. In 1927, General Motors introduced cars in multiple colors, unlike the only black Ford Model T. These cars also offered a more modern design with a faster horse power engine, a streamlined shape and sleek chromework. Ferdinande Porsche's 1938 Volkswagan offered even more technilogical advances. These cars introduced the air cooled engine that decreased the cars weight, expense and risk of freezing that was a threat of a water cooled engine. For more information on late 1920's automotive improvement, look at [|this article] The 1920's was a decade of unbelievable innovation in transportation.

Citations:

"1920's Automobiles and Tranportation." N.p., 2005. Web. 10 Mar 2011. [].

"1920's Automobiles." N.p., 2011. Web. 10 Mar 2011. .

//1920's Cars //. Web. 10 Mar 2011. [].



Parker, Steve, and First. //20th Century Science and Technology: 1920-40 Atoms to Automation//. Milwaukee, WI: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2001. Print.

Gaff, Jackie. //20th Century Design: 20's and 30's Between the Wars//. Milwaukee. WI: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2000. Print.

Fads and Crazes in the 1920’s Greg Goldberg In the 1920’s many fads and crazes were adopted into American culture. There was a game called Mahjong, Word Puzzles, flag pole sitting, and dance marathons. Mah jong was played with tiles that had different pictures on it. Mahjong means sparrow in Chinese and was imported to America in the 1920’s. Mahjong in the 20’s is equivalent to a modern man’s weekly poker game. Mahjong themed parties were very common. The whole party was just many simultaneous games of mahjong being played. Later in the 20’s mahjong clubs were being developed around the country. In New Port, Rhode Island the Black Point Fishing Club was dedicated to housing mahjong games. Although children didn’t take part in this craze, mahjong was a common fad in the 1920’s. 

Crossword puzzles were another common fad in America. In 1924 Richard Leo Simon and Max Lincoln Schuster published their first volume, The Cross Word Puzzle Book. This was also the world's first collection of crossword puzzles. Crossword puzzles became so popular that Times Magazine included their first crossword on February 1, 1930. Crossword puzzles were very popular in colleges. There were crossword puzzle competitions, and the University of Kentucky even offered a class in crossword puzzles.

 Flagpole sitting was a big craze with the dare devil teens of the 1920’s. Flagpole sitting was basically people sitting on top of flagpoles for hours, days, and even weeks. Many people participated in enduring this wild challenge. Flagpole sitting was mainly influenced by the actor Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly whose friend dared him to sit on top of a pole. In 1924 he sat on top of a pole for 13 hours and 13 minutes. This became a fad with other contestants who higher records than Shipwreck. So, decided to reclaim the title. He sat on a flagpole for 49 days in Atlantic City, New Jersey, setting a new record. 1930, his record was broken by Bill Penfield in Strawberry Point, Iowa who sat on a flag pole for 51 days and 20 hours, until he was forced down by a thunderstorm. This fad eventually became so popular, Shipwreck imitators in 1929, Baltimore had at least 17 boys and 3 girls sitting on 18 foot hickory poles while hundreds of family and friends cheered them on. This rebellious fad influenced Americans dare devils to sit on a very high pole for long amounts of time.



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dance Marathons swept America in the 1920’s. Like flag pole sitting, it tested your endurance. During dance marathons couples danced almost non-stop for hundreds of hours (as long as a month or two), competing for prize money. Many towns banned them saying they were “repugent and disruptive.” Dance marathons were known as "bunion derbies," and "corn and callus carnivals." Promoters called them "walkathons." On September 5, 1928 Seattle passed a law banning dance marathons because a woman who spent 19 days dancing commit suicide. This let to many other Western cities banning dance marathons. Although it was a very big craze in the 20’s it became even bigger in the 30’s. (for more information click here)

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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Mahjong." -http://www.fast-autos.net/diecast-cars-models/diecast-car-image-large/1920s-mahjong-mah-jong-jongg-bone- <span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">bamboo-set-racks--- . N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2011.

<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">"History of Crossword Puzzles." []. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2011.

<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">1920's fads crazes." [] . N.p., n.d. Web. 14 <span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Mar 2011.

<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">"Pole Sitting." []. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar 2011.

<span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">"Dance Marathons." []. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar <span style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">2011.